Why did YOU persist after years of unprofitable trading? | Forex Factory

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Why did YOU persist after years of unprofitable trading?

  • #1
  • First Post: Feb 2, 2012 5:15am Feb 2, 2012 5:15am
I have heard stories of traders being unprofitable for years, how they have long a big chunk of money from $1,000 to $10,000 and beyond.

I have heard stories of traders who have been in the market for years yet unable to be consistently profitable.

Imagine you are walking and you suddenly hit a wall, do you keep walking towards the wall or change direction?

What made you persist and not give up forex despite being the 95%?
  • #2
  • Feb 2, 2012 6:04am Feb 2, 2012 6:04am
Quoting jayjb
What made you persist and not give up forex despite being the 95%?
//---

answer == knowing that there was the other 5% ......h
to trade and code, keep both simple... no call to impress....h
  • #3
  • Feb 2, 2012 10:21am Feb 2, 2012 10:21am
You should read The Dip by Seth Godin
  • #4
  • Feb 2, 2012 10:31am Feb 2, 2012 10:31am
Quoting hayseed
//---

answer == knowing that there was the other 5% ......h
Hope I'm in those 5% group.
  • #5
  • Feb 2, 2012 10:31am Feb 2, 2012 10:31am
I found an edge, had the edge all along but was sidetracked by quick profits on the 1M, 5M charts... I made a bunch of money trading one system and then abandoned it for quick profits of 5 pips (using $50.00 pips) I ended up having to make a dozen scalps per day to be profitable. When I had the system the whole time that allowed me to have more winners than losers. Stay with higher TF's

Also...with "gambler" under your screen name doesn't sound like you are a "trader" I would re-evaluate your whole purpose for trading. Is it fun? Is it to be right?

You asked!
  • #6
  • Edited 10:33am Feb 2, 2012 10:32am | Edited 10:33am
It took me 2 years of scalping...turning $1,500 into $15,000 (constantly making and losing $1K to $2K per day) only to lose it all over again to realize that the system I had was the answer...I just had to accept it.

Quoting pilotui
I found an edge, had the edge all along but was sidetracked by quick profits on the 1M, 5M charts... I made a bunch of money trading one system and then abandoned it for quick profits of 5 pips (using $50.00 pips) I ended up having to make a dozen scalps per day to be profitable. When I had the system the whole time that allowed me to have more winners than losers. Stay with higher TF's

Also...with "gambler" under your screen name doesn't sound like you are a "trader" I would re-evaluate your whole purpose for trading. Is it fun? Is...
  • #7
  • Feb 2, 2012 11:01am Feb 2, 2012 11:01am
Quoting jayjb
I have heard stories of traders being unprofitable for years, how they have long a big chunk of money from $1,000 to $10,000 and beyond.

I have heard stories of traders who have been in the market for years yet unable to be consistently profitable.

Imagine you are walking and you suddenly hit a wall, do you keep walking towards the wall or change direction?

What made you persist and not give up forex despite being the 95%?
yeah i've stopped trading maybe 3 times and blew 2 small accounts.. but had to keep at it until I figure the shit out.. which slowly happens over time... small bank accounts is your tuition and time is your education
  • #8
  • Feb 2, 2012 1:49pm Feb 2, 2012 1:49pm
Quoting jayjb
I have heard stories of traders being unprofitable for years, how they have long a big chunk of money from $1,000 to $10,000 and beyond.

I have heard stories of traders who have been in the market for years yet unable to be consistently profitable.

Imagine you are walking and you suddenly hit a wall, do you keep walking towards the wall or change direction?

What made you persist and not give up forex despite being the 95%?
Because I knew what is on the other side of that wall. Financial independence - freedom to do anything I want (within the law of course). Not having to show up or justify yourself to anybody but yourself and your family is the best feeling there is.
  • #9
  • Feb 2, 2012 2:22pm Feb 2, 2012 2:22pm
Addiction and intellectual pursuit
The nail that sticks out gets hammered back in
  • #10
  • Feb 2, 2012 2:34pm Feb 2, 2012 2:34pm
Quoting Custos
Because I knew what is on the other side of that wall. Financial independence - freedom to do anything I want (within the law of course). Not having to show up or justify yourself to anybody but yourself and your family is the best feeling there is.
I second this. That is the only motivation that got me over the many hurdles and onto the profitable side. Making a comfortable living from the comfort of my own home and not having employers or employees to worry about as well as having the freedom to make my own holiday days and the luxury of making a day's income in half an hour. That's why I dedicated 3 years of my life to practicing this skill and trying to overcome all its hardships.
  • #11
  • Feb 2, 2012 2:46pm Feb 2, 2012 2:46pm
Hey Roofx...so you trade for a living by scalping? Like your tops/bottoms thread? Just curious, as I couldn't ever get it to work. What size pips to you trade with to make a living scalping...I've always been curious what was required to actually pull it off full time.

Thanks!

Darren

Quoting Roofx
I second this. That is the only motivation that got me over the many hurdles and onto the profitable side. Making a comfortable living from the comfort of my own home and not having employers or employees to worry about as well as having the freedom to make my own holiday days and the luxury of making a day's income in half an hour. That's why I dedicated 3 years of my life to practicing this skill and trying to overcome all its hardships.
  • #12
  • Feb 2, 2012 3:14pm Feb 2, 2012 3:14pm
Quoting pilotui
Hey Roofx...so you trade for a living by scalping? Like your tops/bottoms thread? Just curious, as I couldn't ever get it to work. What size pips to you trade with to make a living scalping...I've always been curious what was required to actually pull it off full time.

Thanks!

Darren
Hi Darren,

I trade on the M1 time frame and scalp 10 pips from short term reversals with a 9 pip stop. After commission the stop loses me 9.7 pips and the target gains me 9.3. You know what's really strange? My very first ever day of trading I was on a demo account. I had absolutely no idea about trading other than we coculd buy or sell. I hadn't even heard of a moving average. I thought it was simply about picking tops and bottoms and thaat anyone with a few weeks practice could make a living from it. I had a really profitable first day. Then I went live a few days later and lost about 10% of my account over a few months. I then decided I needed to learn all sorts of complex indicator combos and mumbo jumbo and enrolled in a paid training service. I lost more money. In the end I finally returned to scalping tops and bottoms and my trading has never been so good. I think it's easy to get lost in all the mumbo jumbo and nonsense out there.

When you watch the M1 charts intently enough for 10 hours a day non stop for a period of years you get the hang of how price behaves just before it reverses. Wait for a substantial and smooth diagonal move in one direction and watch for what price starts to do when it is starting to stall. 7 times out of ten I get in for the reversal and price only goes 2-3 pips against me before going on to hit my 10 pip target. Obviously you have to stay away from news and market opens and also keep a close eye on support and resistance areas. The best days are ranging days. Trending days I find fewer trades as usually one direction is ruled out for trading and when trading with the trend sometimes the pull backs aren't substantial enough for me to get in with a really tight stop so I let them go. On trending days I might only take 1 or 2 trades but ranging days can give 5+.

It's the high hit rate that makes it so profitable. Risking a max of 1% per trade and getting anything from 2 to 8 trades in a given day, you can see how the returns start to add up. At one time I was a terrible trader and almost gave up several times because I was wasting my life staring at charts all day every day. Today I am thankful I managed to pull through the darker times and get to where I am now. I love trading now where at one point I was becoming bitter about it.
  • #13
  • Feb 2, 2012 3:31pm Feb 2, 2012 3:31pm
Some are just born with the 'never give up' trait. When i was young i used to play video games till the very end in the highest difficulty setting, played sports against better opponents just so i could become better at it, practiced patience in suations most would not so i wound't show weakness.

In trading I just like to prove most wrong when they say "oh, it can't be done". I enjoy it actually.

S.
  • #14
  • Feb 2, 2012 4:16pm Feb 2, 2012 4:16pm
Maddening obsession. I eat, sleep and dream trading, because it is the gateway to a dream life. Financial freedom. I will never work for someone else again, real ultimate power.
  • #15
  • Feb 2, 2012 5:36pm Feb 2, 2012 5:36pm
It took me close to 7 years to be consistently profitable, but I knew it was what I needed to do. Life events in that time only confirmed that the lifestyle and flexibility that trading could provide meant I just needed to persist.

It isn't surprising though when you think of other high paying professions. To be a doctor or a lawyer for example you need to go through formal education for a minimum of 4-5 years, then you need to serve your dues as a junior before you can move into the lifestyle and income you were trained for.

I view it the same way with trading, any money lost was educational costs, I served my apprenticeship, and now in my 12th year I can reap the benefits of that hard work.

For some people they just know it is what they want to do, same with musicians, dancers and the like that dedicate their life to their passion.

The question is, is it your passion?
You can quit and they won't care, but you will always know.
  • #16
  • Feb 2, 2012 8:24pm Feb 2, 2012 8:24pm
  •  duca
  • | Joined Dec 2011 | Status: Investing is simple, but not easy | 409 Posts
is an excellent second work-
there every day-
has very few expenses-
the savings are sure gain-
just a computer
give 1 and get 100
  • #17
  • Feb 2, 2012 11:48pm Feb 2, 2012 11:48pm
Its almost half a year now since i have opened my forex account..
So far no success, down by 10% but still holding tight.. its still better than blowing it off..
I have to keep learning one rule time and time again... If you are not disciplined the market will whip you up.. discipline in terms of money management, in term of not panicking, waiting for the chart to actually be there not just assuming..

Well the reason why i persist is pure passion although sitting in front of my system 24/5, does get boring at times.. but right from my start (11-12 years of age) i have always been fascinated by the ticker that used to move under the news channel... it used to be exciting to say my dad later in the evening whether i was correct or wrong in daily childish predictions that i used to make...

so here we are now.. trying to trade my way out.. although i do believe that i have been late to start by atleast 5-7 years.. wish i had started earlier.. but non the less.. better late than never..
  • #18
  • Feb 2, 2012 11:56pm Feb 2, 2012 11:56pm
Quoting jassu2
Its almost half a year now since i have opened my forex account..
So far no success, down by 10% but still holding tight.. its still better than blowing it off..
I have to keep learning one rule time and time again... If you are not disciplined the market will whip you up.. discipline in terms of money management, in term of not panicking, waiting for the chart to actually be there not just assuming..

Well the reason why i persist is pure passion although sitting in front of my system 24/5, does get boring at times.. but right from my start...
good luck ' and trade safe
finding A M S
  • #19
  • Feb 2, 2012 11:58pm Feb 2, 2012 11:58pm
Quoting yusbassri
Hope I'm in those 5% group.
consider being there only after a minimum profitable trading experience of 5 years or more never easy '
finding A M S
  • #20
  • Feb 3, 2012 12:05am Feb 3, 2012 12:05am
Quoting Akuma99
It took me close to 7 years to be consistently profitable, but I knew it was what I needed to do. Life events in that time only confirmed that the lifestyle and flexibility that trading could provide meant I just needed to persist.

It isn't surprising though when you think of other high paying professions. To be a doctor or a lawyer for example you need to go through formal education for a minimum of 4-5 years, then you need to serve your dues as a junior before you can move into the lifestyle and income you were trained for.

I view it the...
WELL SAID
finding A M S
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